A Small Winter Primark Haul - Clothes, Jewellery, Beauty And Christmas

It's not only posts that have been thin on the ground this year, but hauls and specifically Primark hauls have been too. It's no secret that 2019 has been a bad one health wise for me but as I've already said I've also been trying to cut down on my spending, and I've also been trying to buy less and wear more, so my monthly Primark trips just haven't happened this year.

You know how it goes though, you don't go somewhere for ages and then all of sudden it seems like you live there! Well over the last 4 or so weeks I've managed 3 trips to Primark, including 2 in a week and whilst I've tried to be a little bit more selective about what I bought, I do have a few things to show you

First up the sale rails, now usually I can't do a lot with the sale rails in Primark, plus sizes are rare enough as it is without them being reduced but on two successive trips I picked up up two of the same tops, in two different colours.

Whilst they aren't t-shirts, they aren't quite jumpers either but they do have a soft, ribbed knit, almost jumper like feel. They aren't the thickest of tops for this time of year but they are ideal for layering, so you could either wear them with a vest underneath, or with a thicker cardigan on top, on even both if you're feeling cold. The first one that I picked up was in a lovely neutral beige, oatmeal marl type colour, and whilst the other one is officially described as dark orange, it more of a rusty, orange red marl. Both of these tops had originally been £6 but I got them for £3 each. They aren't that exciting but they're just a nice throw on basic.

Now when I'm at home, writing or just chilling, I'm very much a leggings girl, I love comfort, and I can't stand anything with zips or buttons, but I fancied a change, and I've so many girls looking casual yet effortlessly cool in joggers that I thought I'd give them a go. I tend to get quite overheated at times so I didn't want anything too thick even for the winter months, and whilst Primark do have a lot of chunky, and fleecy joggers in at the moment, these skinny fit ones that I picked up aren't quite as bulky, or weighty. There were a few different colours to choose from but I ended up steering away from my usual black and picking up a pair in a charcoal grey marl. They were only £5 and they definitely feel more expensive than that. I haven't worn them yet so I'll try and stick a pick on Instagram when I do.

One of the most frustrating things with any shop, but particularly with Primark is seeing something you like but they don't have your size, well that's what happened with these pyjamas. On Friday 13th in desperate need of cheering up, I dragged myself out and went Christmas shopping! I popped into Primark for a few bits, and I ended up in the nightwear section. As per usual if your looking for Christmas PJ's Primark is the place to go, they really do have something for everyone this year. I bought my mam a gorgeous floral nightshirt, and even though I'm officially PJ'd out, I couldn't resist picking up another pair.

Officially described as emerald green, in real life these pyjamas are in fact much more of a forest, bottle green. I think the colour way is really unusual, and I love the vintage floral and spot design on the pants. These particular pj's are from their sustainable cotton range, and they were only £6. On my first trip they didn't have my size but I went back on a whim and they been restocked - it was meant to be!

Now it wouldn't be Christmas with out some socks and some slippers, and this cute pair combine those two festive must haves. They are short slipper socks or footsies. With a lovely pink fluffy lining, and a grey velour outer, they are in a super cute mouse design. I love this type of slipper sock, and these were only £3.50

Next up some jewellery, and a couple of sets of earrings. This first pack is a set of 3, gold tone celestial earrings, featuring some crystal star shaped drops, some golden half moons and and some small, plain, gold tone ball studs. The drops are ideal for the party season but you could easily wear the other two pairs every day, no matter what the occasion. This particular set was £1.50.

Other this next set of earrings initially screams Christmas with the candy canes, festive bows, snowflakes and gingerbread characters, this set also contains a few pairs of plain red, faux pearl, and gold tone studs, bows and stars that you could wear all year round. This set was just £3 for 20 pairs of earrings.

Now if you are a regular reader of my blog, you'll more than likely have at least one empties post where I've sang the praises of Primark's PS... Cuticle Oil. I've lost count of how many bottles I've used up over the years, but it's safe to say it was one of my holy grail beauty products. I say was because in their wisdom Primark seem to have discontinued it.

I thought that all I had to do was go into store and pick up another four bottles or so, but it was nowhere to be seen. So instead I ended up buying the two products which I assume have replaced it.
The first one is the PS... Nourishing Cuticle Revive Nourishing Cuticle Oil Pens which £1 each. 

Now although the glass bottles are great for home use, these twist up pens are a much better, and safer idea for holidays. All you do is twist the pen and eventually the oil comes out through the brush, all ready for you to brush onto your nails and cuticles.

Containing Vitamin A, and sweet almond oil, this is nice, almost fragrance free oil, that's easy to use and it absorbs quickly into the nails, making dry skin look better in an instant. I ended up buying two and I'm pleased that I did because I don't think that these pens will last that long compared to the old style bottles. As well as being made of plastic instead of glass each pen contains just 1.5ml of oil, compared to 10ml for just a £1 in the old style glass bottle.

If pens, and plastic aren't your thing though, on my second Primark trip, I found another cuticle oil, the PS...Nail & Cuticle Oil Nourishing Treatment which was £2 for an 11ml bottle. This one comes boxed, and it comes in a square glass bottle, with a glass, plastic, and rubber dropper, instead of the old style brush.

Containing very similar ingredients to the original oil such as avocado oil, almond oil, and Vitamin E, it's has a very similar consistency, but with a slightly stronger, sweeter, almost coconut scent. Again it absorbs quickly and it makes an immediate difference to the nails and cuticles.

I can't lie I do like the replacements, but I'm still of the opinion if it isn't broke don't fix it. Whilst both of these products are amazing value when you compare them to something like OPI Avoplex, they still work out a lot more expensive than Primark's original cuticle oil so whilst I'm still happy to be able to get my hands on a budget friendly cuticle oil, I'm still mildly aggrieved that they had to change it!

My final beauty buy was this super useful set of adhesive mirrors. For just £1 you get 10 mini self adhesive mirrors that are specifically designed to be stuck onto lipstick bullets, and make up palettes. So many many palettes now don't include mirrors, and these are a real time, and space saver in your handbag. I first saw these on Hayley Hall's blog and I'm seriously debating on whether to try and get another set.

Finally some Christmas bits - would you believe we still haven't finished putting up our Christmas decorations yet? The thing is we never just decorate one room, we decorate the whole house and as you can imagine that can take a while. Christmas decorations are like an addiction for me and Mummy Lou, and every year we can't resist adding more and more pieces to our already overflowing grotto esq house.

Whilst Primark have some gorgeous Disney bits in, I'm personally obsessed with their reindeer offerings. Every year they same to so similar but slightly different things, and the first thing that I got was this gold ceramic reindeer tree decoration which was £1.50. I have a standing one from a year or so ago, and a similar designed candle holder. I've popped him on the Christmas tree in the living room, and you can just about see him, amongst all of the dwarfs, woodland creatures, baubles, and holiday buys.

Next up another regular Christmas item, in previous years, I've got both a white version, and a rose gold, copper version of this ceramic reindeer tea light holder, and this year I picked up the silver, and silver glitter version. I'll probably be using mine with battery operated tea lights, but it actually comes with a real wax tea light, all for £1.50.

Finally another reindeer, and if you're brave enough or silly enough to be popping into Primark over the next couple then you might be able to get this one and maybe, the other bits in the sale. This was already reduced last week so you might be lucky. It's a decent sized white ceramic reindeer ornament, with gold detailing on the nose, antlers and the star. It's a really nice piece and it looks a lot more expensive than what it is. It was originally £6 but it had been reduced to £3

So that was a very late Primark haul for you x If you have any questions on any of the items that I picked up then please leave me a comment below x and I will see you tomorrow aka Christmas Eve with a little festive post xx 

A Late March 2019 Primark Haul - Clothes, Accessories And Beauty

Like most bloggers I don't know where I would be without my loyal readers and followers, I know it sound slightly cheesy but I love you all and I really do appreciate every like, comment, share and view that I receive, it's what keeps me going. Now I've been lucky enough to receive a few nice messages and DM's over the years, and I recently received a DM on Instagram asking me if I'd been to Primark recently because they hadn't seen any haul posts or videos. Proper hauls have been pretty thin on the ground so far this year, and this message made me realise that a Primark trip was well overdue, so a couple of weeks ago now, after a few false starts, me and Mummy Lou eventually took a little trip to Intu Metrocentre*, and headed to Primark.

Now since I hadn't been to Primark since the week before Christmas lots of things had changed, and the boots and winter woollies, had been replaced with shorts, bikinis and flip flops! Despite seeing a few people in shorts recently, I'm not quite ready for summer just yet, but I did end up buying a few pieces that are probably better suited to barmy spring days rather than the snow that's forecast for next week!

When it comes to dressing my bottom half, I do think that I'm stuck in a bit of a rut, jeans, leggings and jeggings are my go to's, and whilst I did pick up a pair of my wardrobe staple, black, cotton leggings for only £2.50, I'm fancying making a few changes style wise this year, and wearing a couple of long forgotten bits in my wardrobe, and picking up a few new, and different things.

Since I'm all about comfort the most obvious bottom half solution is / are joggers! At their heart, they're slouchy, and comfortable but depending on how you style them, they can actually look pretty stylish. Primark was full of joggers, and harem style pants, in all sorts of different designs, fabrics, and colours, and I ended up buying two, quite different pairs

The first pair, which were £7, I guess were the safe option. When in doubt go for a plain colour, and you can't get a safer option than a pair of black trousers. These are just a basic pull on, straight legged pant, with an elasticated, tie detail waist. The fabric is quite thin on these so their definitely more of a spring / summer piece, but they really wearable and black trousers go with pretty much anything.

The second pair that I got though, were a bit more of a gamble, but when I was a bit more daring in my fashion choices I used to love striped trousers - A good vertical striped pant can make you look taller and thinner, which is always a good thing in my book.

These are more like a traditional cuffed jogger, the fabric is slightly thicker, and has a stretchy jersey type feel. Again they are in the pull on style, and they have a waist tie, that is tipped with metal accents. They have a slight harem shape and are a bit wider at the waist and hips, and they narrow down to a cuffed hem.

They are in a lovely navy blue shade, and as you can see they have white vertical, solid and broken vertical stripes. They were £6 and whilst they obviously aren't as versatile as the black pair, they are so soft and comfortable that I know I'll get a lot of use out of them. The most obvious choice is to team them up with a white top but I'm definitely going to have a play with shapes and colours - I'm loving different shades of yellow at the moment and I can just imagine these pants teamed up with a yellow cami in the summer.

Whilst I still feel that I need an overhaul in the bottom area of my wardrobe, it's probably fair to say that I'm pretty well off for tops, and if anything I probably have too many as it is, but I do love a bit of tie dye, and I'm really that there is so much of it around at the moment.

I've already bought a couple of long sleeve tie dye, ombre style tops from Simply Be, and I couldn't resists picking this one up because it's so different for any of the other tie dye garments that I already own.

This boyfriend style t-shirt which was just £6 is just so fresh, and spring like with it's pale, sky blue and white horizontal stripe tie dye design. I actually sized down in this because it was so slouchy and I wanted it to be a little bit more fitted. I know Primark can sometimes be a bit hit and miss quality wise but this has a real quality feel, the fabric is nice and soft, and it has a nice thickness to it, and I can't wait to wear it when the sun comes out, and it actually feels as warm as what it looks like through the window :)

Next up something that I don't think that I've ever shown you on the blog, my knickers! Now I love fancy undies as much as the next person, and I recently added a few pairs of sexier pants from Victoria's Secret (shock horror I found something in there that fits my curves!!!) to my underwear drawer, but lets be honest my fellow females, sexy undies are perfect for making you feel amazing and obviously for those special occasions but sometimes you just want a nice and comfy pair of pants. Like so many others I used to swear by Marks and Spencer for my everyday pants but in the last year or so I've being buying multi packs like this from Primark and to be honest I haven't noticed to much difference in terms of quality or wear. One thing that I despise though is baggy undies so I always tend to buy a smaller size than what I actually am, there is nothing worse than washing your pants a few times and the elastic giving up - go a bit smaller and they end up fitting perfectly. Even if you are an expensive underwear wearer, then these pants are perfect for everyday use and for that time of the month - this pack of 5 cost me just £3.50.

So that's it for clothes next up jewellery and shoes! Ever since I was tiny I've always had a thing for shoes, and do you know who I blame Mummy Lou! Some of my earliest and fondest memories are the trips that me and my mam used to make to the massive Tommy Balls shoe factory outlet in Blackburn, I have a vivid memory of sitting under a shoe rang whilst my mam filled up her basket. She always complains when I buy more shoes but it's pretty obvious to me who is to blame for my shoe addiction.

Long gone were the boots of winter, instead Primark was full of summer sandals, flip flips and pumps. They had some lovely sandals but with summer still being a little way off I ended up buying something that I can wear now, and that will take me well into the warmer months, and hopefully beyond.

I love flat and comfy, skate type shoes, and lace ups, and I virtually live in one of my numerous pairs of Converse. These are more Vans like in appearance actually but I love the style and I since I'm loving mustard's at the moment, these were a must have. These were also £6

Over the last few months or so I've been trying to shop my stash a bit when it comes to jewellery. I've rediscovered so fab things that I'd forgotten about including some amazing, retro looking mustard beads, but you know me I can never resist a bargain, so it goes without saying that I ended up with a couple of new jewellery pieces. 

These fab earrings were reduced to just £1. I love, love, love green malachite, and whilst I'm not convinced that the stones in these earrings are real, it's really vibrant and works so well with the grey and white marble like stones, and the brown and red tone, wooden and stone beads.

When it comes to jewellery I don't know why but I often levitate towards brown and neutral toned pieces, I guess it's because they are so versatile and they go with so many pieces in my wardrobe. This particular necklace with a gold tone snake style chain is just perfect. Despite the chunkiness of the beads it's quite simple and unassuming, and I think that it would equally well worm casually with a t-shirt and jeans, as it would with a smart shirt and a blazer.

Finally beauty, and I always say it, Primark's beauty range just keeps getting better and better. Their own range now, is entirely cruelty free, and they had loads of fab new things in, including a Hello Kitty range, and some gorgeous new highlighters, but I stayed strong and I picked up a few staples including two bottles of their fab cuticle oil for just a £1 each, and some of their tea tea based face wipes that are just £1 for 2 packs of 25.

One of the things that I was surprised to see was the Alex Steinherr skincare range, I know that when it first came out it was only available in selected stores, but it looks as though it's rolling out into more stores which has to be a good thing. I wasn't that desperate for anything new skincare wise, so I only bought one thing, but if you have any recommendations, then please let me know so I can maybe pick up a few more things on my next visit. The one thing that I did get on this trip though, was the Alex Steinherr Pore Balance Blemish Rescue Stickers.

I'd tried something similar in the past from both Sarah Chapman , and from one of the more acne focused drugstore brands, maybe Oxy, Biore or Clearasil and I loved the concept. No mess and no fuss!

Basically you get 22 clear plastic circular stickers that are infused with both tea tree and salicylic acid, which are designed to help calm the redness and irritation of a spot. They are vegan, not tested on animals and fragrance free.

All you do after cleansing is apply one of the patches to each spot, and leave it on overnight or between 8 and 12 hours, before peeling it off. Obviously these would work out quite expensive if you had a lot of spots but if you like me you just get the odd one or two, angry hormonal ones at that time of the month then these are ideal.

I've only tried one up to now but it made a big difference, it stayed stuck to my chin all night and it seemed to bring the spot to a head so it looked less angry, and it seemed to fade more quickly. These were £3 for 22 stickers and I'm definitely going to be using these next time my skin decides to misbehave.

So that was my first Primark haul of 2019, I am aiming to buy less and wear more in 2019 so I don't think Primark trips are going to be too frequent this year but we'll see - it's impossible to go in without buying anything, and who knows what else this year has to offer. I have a nice repositioned mirror which is ideal for outfit selfies, and Mummy Lou is has been practising her photography skills, so I'm hoping to try and get a few more outfit posts and pictures up on both the blog and my Instagram this year, so make sure you're following on all fronts to see some of these bits and more on something other than a coat hanger x In the meantime if you have any questions on any of the items that I've bought then please let me know x

*I Have Worked With Intu Metrocentre Within The Last 12 Months